Mechanical means for supporting or positioning the head, torso, or other parts of a person's body while in bed or otherwise in a supine or reclined position are well known. Such devices include means for deforming a hospital bed which are electric motor driven. Also, inflatable means for the support and comfort of various parts of the body of a person in the supine or reclined position are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,249 to Meade, U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,247 to Beier, U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,794 to Darnfors, U.S. Pat. No. 4,142,263 to Pierson and U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,064 to Petrusek.
Several other inflatable or pneumatically operated devices have been developed for the positioning of the handicapped or otherwise physically limited persons. U.S. Pat. No. 3,848,274 to Oliver discloses an inflatable bed pan. U.S. Pat. No. 3,803,645 to Oliverius discloses an inflatable device for positioning and support of the feet or legs of a handicapped person.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,162 to Porche discloses an inflatable cushion for assisting a handicapped person in moving from a standing position to a seated position in a chair and returning from the seated position to a standing position. A similar device employing a ring-shaped inflatable cushion is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,329 to Heilner. U.S. Pat. No. 3,250,569 to Gaffney, U.S. Pat. No. 3,479,086 to Sheridan, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,479,087 to Burke disclose similar devices which are partially pneumatically and partially mechanically actuated.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,168 to Wood discloses an inflatable chair for use in bathing handicapped persons in a bathtub.
Mechanical means for support and positioning of the head and torso, such as that employed in hospital beds, have generally been highly mechanized and expensive. Further, such means are generally of limited portability. While the inflatable cushions and supports disclosed by the patents identified above provide for some positioning and comfort at a much lower cost than a hospital bed and other mechanical means, and provide for portability and transferability, the function of the inflatable cushions and supports is substantially more limited.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an economical and portable device for comfortably positioning and supporting the head and torso of a person in a supine or reclined position.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for positioning and supporting the head and torso which offers a variety of positioning and support configurations.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a device which will assist a physically limited person in getting out of bed.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a device which is easy and inexpensive to operate, maintain and repair.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a device which can be operated by the user or an assisting person from the use position.